Recently upgraded to iOS 16. Now, when I take a video using Camera (4K at 30 fps) the video looks good on the phone. But, when I transfer the file to my MBA (12.6.1) the resulting .mov file is jerky in the video, though the audio sounds right.
Surprising and frustrating. Advice welcome.
iPhone 12
OK: Early 2015 MBA, 8GB CPU, 500 GB system drive, of which 338 used. Chrome is installed but not running; I'm using Safari (for this post) and also use Firefox (which is not running now).
Screenshot attached. The video from iPhone was transferred via AirDrop. iPhone already set to Most Compatible.
Thank you for your detailed questions.
Thanks. When I CTL-click the file in Finder I do not see a Services option. Screenshot attached. So I don't know how to convert to H264.
Thanks for tip on Chrome. I'm trying to figure out how to delete the app.
The Encode Selected Video Files, in your case is right there, and not in a submenu.
When there only a few Services available, they are shown directly:
And, regarding Chrome, all instructions, as well as a detailed explanation of how they affect video, can be read from this site: https://chromeisbad.com
Which MBA is this? How full is the system drive? What application are you using to playback? Quicktime Player? VLC? Something else? Does it make a difference if you play it back in another application (eg VLC vs Quicktime Player)?
Do you have er... Chrome installed on this machine? It can wreak havoc on video by hogging the system videotoolbox.
Also: how are you transferring the files? AirDrop?
Open one such file in Quicktime Player and press Command-I. Post a screenshot.
If the files are HEVC, an older mac may have more trouble decoding.
You can change the settings in your iPhone for pc or mac transfer, to "more compatible", instead "keep originals".
This will convert the video on the fly to H264, which is not so heavy on your mac to decode.
The video is HEVC, which does not agree with the "most compatible" setting.
You can try converting this on the mac to H264, and see if that helps.
Control-click the file, choose Services->Encode Selected Video Files and choose H264.
Does the resulting file play smoothly?
As to Chrome: if it is causing problems, then it does not matter if it is running, because most of the damage is done by its "keystone" daemons that are running continuously in the background.
Following your guidance I now have a clunky work-around:
Select the file on Mac, Encode Video, manually select H264 2160p. The re-encoded file shows up as a work file and a 0-byte .mov file. When I get info on these and try to open them, the work file disappears and I get a .mov file that is smaller than the one I started with but seems to be high-enough resolution.
Thank you for pointing the way.
Now, is there a way to set my iPhone so that I get H264 2160p files in the first place?
And, is there a way to avoid the fiddling with the working file so that it completes the conversion and I get the final .mov file?
Is all this a result of the "improvements" I got by upgrading to iOS 16?
First, it takes time to do the conversion - so that is why it appears a "work file". Let it finish before opening.
Second, in your iPhone, you can go to Settings->Camera, and choose "Most Compatible" under "CAMERA CAPTURE". This will make it so your iPhone captures as H264 from the get go, and thus there will be no need to convert.
I mistakenly mentioned this in relation to the transfer via AirDrop. I checked, and it is named "Automatic", and at least with my iPhone 7 (iOS 15) and my MBP (2019 16", Ventura), this transfers the original. Presumably because it is assumed that the mac is capable of handling it. I think that for a mac on an older OS (say, High Sierra), it would have converted the file.
Many thanks.
My iPhone (iOS 16) in Settings>Camera does not have a Camera Capture setting at all. I have set Record Video to 1080p at 30 fps and will see if that works.
Many thanks, in any event, for your most helpful and rapid efforts to sort this out. And have a happy holiday season.
I don't have access to iOS 16, but it should be under Camera->Format, according to this screenshot (which I got from the internet):
it was already set to Most Compatible— a misnomer.
thanks again!
.mov files on iPhone 12 (iOS 16) stutter when downloaded to MacBook Air (OSX 12.6.1)
